Awake and Alive
by Silver-Eyed-Rukia
Summary: It was a sin to love a demon. But she just could not resist. Love goes weird ways. After her Awakening, Clare tries her best to stay human, while Miria tries her best not to make the same mistake twice. Rated T for safety. Miria x Clare. -DISCONTINUED (UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME)-
1. Introduction

**A/N**: Hello Claymore-Fans out there^^

This is my very first Claymore fanfiction E-V-E-R, so don´t be too harsh please :)

I think there are lots of mistakes (spelling, grammar and times) but English isn´t my first language...it´s German

I don´t have a beta-reader, so you just have to deal with my clumsiness XD

Enjoy yourself!

* * *

_The irony smell of blood filled the air and the same red liquid soaked the earth beneath her feet into a deep crimson._

_Her eyes searched frantically for her comrades._

_Helenes left ear, part of her hair and her left arm were cut off, __unconscious__._

_Deneve was conscious, but four long scratches went down the right half of her face, the rest of her injuries were already healing._

_Yumas legs were cut off, her hands were pinned to the ground and the top of her head wasn´t there at all, __obviously dead._

_Cynthias __ribcage was pushed into her lungs; blood dripped down out of the corner of her mouth. She, too, was dead._

_Tabithas attempt to rescue her ended in her body being ripped into tiny peaces right in front of her face._

_And Clare…_

"…_kill you. I'll kill you! You killed Yuma, you killed Cynthia, you killed Tabitha, you killed Helene, you killed Raki and you killed Theresa! I'll kill you!"_

_Her partially awakened body trembled with rage, as her golden eyes filled with tears and her arms morphed into blades, ready to strike down their apparently invincible enemy._

_Miria couldn't react as Clare dashed forwards, right into their enemy's range, her body paralyzed with fear._

_Priscilla didn't even blink as her arm pierced Clares chest, leaving her body limb and her eyes starring into nothingness._

_She tried to gulp down the knot in her throat, but it just wouldn't go away. All her friends, her family, lied there, bleeding and dead, or at the edge of it._

_As Priscillas eyes spotted her trembling form, her vision started to blur and she gave in, letting her mind slip into unconscious._

**~*~**

Miria awoke with a start, sweat rolling down her face and her breath uneven and shallow. She scanned her surroundings before falling back into bed again, rubbing her eyes and letting out a heavy sigh.

"A dream", she murmured before getting up and getting dressed. "No, more likely a nightmare…".

_After Miria had regained conscious again, Helene was awake, too. Deneve had ripped off her left arm and had given it to Helene, she could grow them back, after all. As the three of them had collected the dead bodies, Miria had noticed that one was missing._

"_Where…where's Clares body?"._

_Helene and Deneve had exchanged worried looks, before the former Number 15 finally had decided to tell her superior what had happened._

"_After Priscilla had pierced Clare I thought she was dead, but she cut off the arm and lured that monster away from us. I…don't know if she's still alive or not"._

_In that very moment, Miria had felt as if somebody had pulled away the ground beneath her feet._

**~*~**

Helene and Deneve were standing in front of Mirias office, waiting for her superiors' appearance.

"Geez, honestly, how long is she going to let us wait here?".

"Helene, shut up will you? If she's going to be late, she has a good reason".

"Whatever…. I want an apple".

Deneve slowly shook her head. "You´re an idiot, ´know that?".

"Aw, I love you too".

Miria blinked at the scene in front of her. "I think I'll giving you two some space…".

"Miria! Finally you´re showing up your pretty face. What took you so long?".

Because of their bickering the two warriors didn't notice the spiky-haired woman coming out of the door.

"First, stop calling me or my face pretty or your girlfriend may get jealous", Deneve glared at her, "and second, I had that…dream again".

In an instant Helenes stupid grin fell from her face. "Oh, I didn't know that, sorry".

"Don't mind it, just get over with our work, shall we?".

After they had left the north, it had taken the Ghosts three years of hard work and suffering, to finally take down the Organization. Two-thirds of the Organizations warriors joined them after hearing the story of the experiments and what the Organization had done to them. With that more strength it was almost an easy task to overpower them.

Alicia, Beth and Isley died in the war between the Abyssal Feeders, Riful of the West and the fusion of Rafaela and Luciela. The handlers were locked up, the Abyssal Feeders were destroyed and the rest of the Organizations warriors, who refused to join them, were defeated.

But even as they had stopped creating Yomas, they were still showing up. The source was the parasites, which infected the Yoma and gave them a new ability: to infect other humans and turn them into Yomas.

So, even after the Organizations fall, there are still Yomas out in this land. And if there are Yomas, there will be Claymores to slaughter them. And if there are Claymores, Awakened Beings are going to be a problem as well….

**~*~**

A cloaked figure crossed the dirty streets of Maltara at a quick pace, trying to avoid any contact with other persons. She had noticed some men following her for quite a while now, but didn't try to get rid of them. She needed them, after all.

The gates of the small villages' entrance came into view and the person slowed down a little, trying not to look suspicious among all the other people.

Her superhuman hearing allowed her to listen to the conversation between the three males.

"Did ya see her face?".

"Heck, did ya see her whole body? She's gorgeous!".

The third man, most likely the leader grinned and scanned the area before following the woman again.

"He, I'm so goin´ to rape her, ya´ll see".

Despite her nature, a small smile graced her features.

_´We will see´._

After leaving the village through the gates, she went into the small forest and waited for the men to catch up with her. She didn't have to wait for long.

"Hey, whatcha doin´ out here, woman?", asked the smallest among the men and approached the cloaked figure slowly.

"He's right, somebody could hurt you, ya know?".

The leader laughed and patted his friends shoulder.

"Let me handle this".

The smallest nearly touched the arm of the cloaked figure with his hand, but it was cut off and fell to the ground before he could even react.

"Eh?".

His head joined his hand on the ground and before his to friends could run away or scream, they, too, were laying on the ground in front of the figures feet, dead.

A soft breeze swept through the forest and pulled down the hood of the cloaked figure, revealing reddish-brown hair and emerald-green eyes.

"Another three reasons I´m going to end up in hell".

The metallic symbol above her chest glittered in the sunlight; it was shaped like a trident.

* * *

Who´s that?

I think you all know it...Well, I hope so^^

And I´m very sorry for killing all this great characters

Why I killed Yuma, Tabitha and Cynthia but not Deneve or Helene?

Well, ´cause I like the two of them better, and their relationship between my two main characters is better (,too).

And Miria and Clare are the two main characters...I just can´t kill them

But again, I´m really sorry, I like them all but these four the most

**If you liked it, please** **REVIEW**.

No flaming please.


	2. An old Friend

**A/N**: Hello again! It´s time for a second Chapter of A&A (Awake and Alive), don´t you think?

Maybe some questions will be answered, who knows?

If some characters are slightly OOC let me know it, I´m not doing it on purpose^^

And one information before you´re going to read:

Miria is Number 1

Deneve is Number 2

Helene is Number 3

...Not really important for this Chapter though...

Enjoy yourself :)

* * *

Standing on top of the high hill, her gaze travelled through the full streets in this lively city.

Rabona was one of the few villages that meant a lot to her, mostly because of her great respect towards a certain person.

It took her nearly two hours at human speed to reach the holy city after her encounter with the three men outside the walls of Maltara. At the thought of it she softly shook her head. It was disgusting.

She began to walk towards the tall gates of Rabona, this time a little faster. She released some Yoki to make her presence known, but only enough for the blind woman she wanted to visit today.

Clare owned Galatea not only her life, but also her humanity.

Finally reaching the gates, she stopped and looked at her hand. Closing her eyes she placed it over her chest, right above her heart. "May the god of Rabona forgive me".

"You, tell us your name and your intentions", called a guard towards the cloaked figure and moved to stand in front of her.

"My name is Clare and I'm here to visit an old friend of mine". _Friend_ was a great understatement.

"Put down your hood and then slowly remove your cloak please".

"Sure".

After doing so and handing over her cloak to another guard, the first one inspected her.

"Okay, you can pass".

"Thank you".

Pulling on her cloak again, but leaving the hood down, she walked in the direction of the great Cathedral.

**~*~**

Once sensing that all too familiar Yoki, a gentle smile showed itself on Galateas lips. So another month had already passed since their last meeting? Time's passing by way too fast.

"I'm going home now, Bishop Vincent", the tall woman said as she turned around to walk out of the great Cathedral.

"She is it, isn't it?".

The smile never leaved its place. "Yes".

Now Vincent smiled, too.

"It's great to know that she's well after all she's been trough".

"It is".

**~*~**

Patiently waiting outside Galateas house stood Clare, arms crossed over her chest and back propped against the wall.

"Took you some time to walk these few blocks to your house", she said as she recognized Galateas scent that filled the air around her.

"As lovely as ever Clare", sighed the older woman and opened the door, stepped inside and left the door open for her.

After closing the door, Clare took a deep breath. Here, in this house, she felt at _home_.

The former Claymore had changed into casual clothes and offered her friend a seat.

"Excuse me but you smell like-" "I know, don't remind me of that".

"I'm sorry".

This time it was Clares turn to sigh.

Galatea sensed that her friend was someway disturbed.

"What is it that seems to bother you?".

"You know what? Sometimes I think you can read minds or something like that".

She smiled. "Don't try to avoid the topic".

Hesitating for a moment, Clare searched for comfort from the long-haired woman and was greeted by milky-white eyes and a gentle smile. "You know that you can tell me everything".

"It's been 2 years since the incident". Clare chuckled. "Only two years and I'm getting nostalgic".

Galatea glared at her. "Stop saying that. It was hard, for all of us".

Clare jumped out of her chair.

"_´All of us´_!? Galatea, almost all my friends died back then, there is almost nobody who could have suffered the way _I_ have!". Her emotions were getting the best of her.

"Don't you dare raise your voices against me". Her statement was calm, but sharp like the blade of a sword. It worked.

"You've my apologies", she said, bowing deep and too ashamed to lock eyes with Galatea.

Standing now, she took Clares chin and gentle lifted it up. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn´t have said that in your presence".

Eyes filled with sadness greeted her, showing nothing but true pain at the loss of her friends.

"Let's begin the training".

Releasing her chin she walked into another room.

Nodding her head in agreement, though Galatea couldn't see it after all, Clare followed her.

**~*~**

Sitting in a comfortable wooden-chair, the current number 1 of the Organization looked over a few papers.

´_Number 13 was being wounded in the last Awakened Being hunt. Number 34 and 40 were killed by a group of Yomas and number 39 and 29 awakened during the past 2 weeks_´.

Miria let out a heavy sigh.

´_All in all, a rather bad month_´.

Besides the bad news, images of past events were keeping flashing before her eyes.

Moments from before their encounter with Priscilla.

She slammed down a fist on the large wooden table and a loud "Damn it!" echoed through the empty corridors.

Burying her head in her hands Miria fought back tears that welled up in her eyes.

´_Why? Why did you left me…_´.

A soft knock on the door disrupted her thoughts and after taking a deep calming breath, she allowed her visitor to enter the office.

"Uhm, Miria-sama, you wished to see me?".

"Yes Paula, please sit down".

"H-hai!".

The shy warrior sat down in one of the chairs in front of her superiors' desk and began to nervously play with her hands.

"I want you to choose another 3 warriors and hunt down an Awakened Being. ".

"Yes, but why m-me?".

Miria locked eyes with the much younger woman in front of her.

"Because I have faith in you".

Paula stood up, saluted with a "Yes Miria-sama" and darted out of the room, nearly bumping into a now very confused Deneve.

"Why did number 7 just dashed out of the room like that?", she asked as she sat down in the same chair Paula sat only moments ago.

"Not important. Why did you come?".

"Because I found something really interesting". She took Mirias silence as a gesture to go on.

"In the forest near Maltara I smelled the scent of blood. Human blood, to be specific. After investigating the area I found three corpses of males".

"Nothing special-". "Let me finish please".

Miria nodded.

"Their corpses were buried. Somebody made them graves and it wasn´t a human".

"What?!".

**~*~**

After getting the information that the Awakened Being was somewhere near the holy town of Rabona, Paula chose number 18 Julia, number 22 Bertha and number 31 Anna to accompany her.

"Let's go".

**~*~**

Galatea watched Clares motionless form in front of her. It was obvious that she was in a deep state of meditation, even for a blind person like her.

The long haired woman stood up to leave the room, but as she passed Clare, images were flashing in front of her eyes.

´W-what the heck is that!?", cried a villager before he was sliced into tiny pieces by an invisible source. The smell of burned flesh and blood filled the air and the dark gray smoke emerging from the flames which burned down the whole village clouded the star-filled sky.

Standing in the middle of all this was a huge creature, his back turned towards Galatea.

She was confused. She didn't know why she was seeing all this.

Starring directly at said back her confusion turned into fear. Only the sight of this being was intimidating beside the incredible huge amount of Yoki it was leaking.

Finally turning around, milky-white eyes were meeting deep golden ones.

**~*~**

Snapping here eyes open, the nun was sitting upright in a split of a second, but was gentle being pushed back into bed by a concerned looking Clare.

"Galatea, what happened? You just passed out during meditation; the sound of your body hitting the floor woke me up".

"What the heck was that", she mumbled more to herself than to Clare and looked like being deep in thoughts. "Did you say something?". "No, I didn't".

´_It's better to keep that to myself, I don't know what Clare is going to do if I tell her I entered her mind without permission_´.

Noticing that Clare was still looking at her with that concerned gaze, she smiled and told her that she was alright.

Just as she was about to stand up she felt a great amount of Yoki emerging from outside the gates of Rabona.

Dashing out of the room, Clare took her cloak and ran out of the house.

"Wait! Stay inside the house!". Galateas shout was completely ignored.

"Damn that thickhead".

* * *

Wow, that was a long chapter I think XD

Whatever, I like this one

And, I love Galatea, she kicks ass and can see like any ordinary person too, like she isn´t blind at all that´s funny^^

And for that mind thing...since she can control Yoki I thought it would be cool if she could enter somebody's mind, like Clare in Chapter 93

If somebody has a question, just ask, I´m willing and trying to answer all of them :)

Next Chapter : **Confrontation**

**If you liked it, please REVIEW**.

No flaming please.


	3. Confrontation

**A/N**: Hello Guys ;)

Sorry for the rather late update, I somewhat got no inspirations to write this Chapter :(

And because of that, I think this Chapter isn´t as good as the others...

*Sigh* Well, but I hope you like it nonetheless :)

(And, to be honest, I´m somewhat disappointed that I only got 1 review for the second chapter... But I´m grateful for this review, it cheered me up :) So, a great "Thank

you" to toastbox :) So, if you have a request for a pairing or something like that, I would be happy if I could write you a One-Shot :D)

Enjoy yourselves!

* * *

Her elbows were resting on top of the desk; her hands were folded, supporting her chin.

Needless to say that she was deep in thoughts.

The things Deneve had told her just wouldn't make sense.

´_Three bodies of men, all of them had lost their heads. After something had eaten their guts, it had made them a grave and buried them? That just doesn't add up!_´.

Leaning back in her chair she began to look at the ceiling.

´_I´ve never heard of something like this. It wasn´t a Yoma, that´s for sure. An Awakened Being? That´s possible, but why?_´.

No matter how much she thought about it she couldn't find any advantages for an Awakened Being to burry their meals.

´_And it couldn't have been a human either. A human would have needed to long to dig out three holes of that size_´.

She sighed and stood up to go for a walk.

´_I hope the Hunting Squad of Paula isn't going to run into whatever did that_´.

**~*~**

After searching for almost two hours straight, the Hunting Squad had found the Awakened Being. Well, more like the Awakened One had found the Hunter Squad.

"What do we have here, eh? Four Claymores and on top of that; beautiful are they too! What a lucky day". The manically laugher that followed gave the warriors the chills.

"Be careful. According to the information we have about him he's a strong opponent".

Reaching for their swords, Paula narrowed her eyes. "Don't underestimate us!".

Transforming into his awakened form, the man began the fight.

**~*~**

Moving at supernatural speed trough the forest the shape of the cloaked figure turned into a black shadow.

´_Damn, I didn't sense it because of the meditation. This Awakened Being is a tough guy, I met him once but it seems he's not interested in killing others of his kind_´.

She concentrated her sensing ability on the Organizations warriors.

´_One strong Yoki, two ordinary Yokis and one Yoki that´s slightly weaker than the others_´.

Clare herself was suppressing her Yoriki completely. She didn't want them to freak out if they notice that she was no Claymore.

The long-haired woman stopped on a big branch and watched the fight before her.

´_So they already started_´.

Blood splattered onto the ground as one of the monsters long fingers pierced the abdomen of the weaker warrior.

"Julia, attack him from above I will get his legs. Bertha, go and help Anna. After that you two will attack him from the side".

Nodding her heads in agreement the warriors did what they had to do.

´_She's a good leader, but teamwork alone will not defeat this opponent_´.

The Awakened Being looked like an octopus. His upper half looked human, besides the weird colour it had and the two arms that were growing out of each of his shoulders. His lower half had lots of tentacles that were as flexible and strong as his fingers.

"It's no use! You can't block all my attacks and attack for yourself at the same time!".

"We will see. Now, Julia!".

She jumped high into the air, dodging the attacks of the monster while cutting of a few of his fingers. Paula herself managed to cut of a few of his "_legs_" and the other two aimed for his weak spot; his chest.

"You´re done for", cried one of the warriors, but Clare couldn't locate the owner of the voice in this blur of limbs and bodies.

Smirking silently to himself, the Yoma let out a heavy sigh.

"You´re no fun".

Everything seemed to happen at once; the warriors' bodies being pierced, the blood soaking the ground beneath the monsters form and his cry of agony.

"What the hell happened?!".

With a loud _thud_ his tentacles were lying on the ground and pure confusion was written all over his face.

Standing in the middle of red and purple blood, Clare removed the hood of her cloak.

"I just can't sit around and watch this warriors die by your hands", looking directly into her eyes now, the Awakened Being backed away a few inches.

"W-what did you do? What the hell are you? A damn monster?!".

With a swift motion of her right arm, two of the monsters arms were lying on the ground, too.

Crying out in pain he attacked Clare with his remaining two arms. "You fucking cut my arms and legs off! You'll pay for this!".

Jumping away and landing a few feet away from him again, she lifted her arm again.

Paula could just stare in disbelief as the Awakened Being was cut into half by the unknown person in front of her.

´_What's that? She killed him without any effort at all! Sure, he was surprised at the sudden attack, but still, that was just…_".

Pulling the tentacle out of her stomach she coughed out blood, pulling the unknown persons attention towards her.

She looked directly into a pair of emerald green eyes.

´_Wait, green?_ ´.

Reaching for her sword again, she took position in front of her injured companions, who were still lying on the ground. She didn't know if they were conscious or not.

"Stay the hell away from them! I don't know why you killed that Awakened One, but I don't let you kill them too".

´_Always the same reaction_´, thought Clare bitter and began to walk away.

"Hey wait! I have a few questions. Are you an Awakened Being? What are you doing here? Why-". As her gaze crossed that from Clare, she immediately stopped talking.

"I will not answer any of your questions. Besides, you should take care of your comrades, they got hit pretty badly". She turned around and made a gesture towards the limb bodies of the remaining warriors.

Paula caught a glimpse of a metallic-glittering symbol on the unknown person's cloak.

´_A symbol? Wait, it is shaped like…a trident?_´.

"So she's a former Claymore", she mumbled to herself and looked like deep in thoughts.

Hearing the last statement, Clare hurried to get away from there.

"A-ah, wait!". But it was already too late.

´_I really should report this to Miria-sama when we get back_´.

As her friends began to wake up again she helped them and told them, that they would return to the Organizations headquarters for now.

**~*~**

Clare almost regretted that she ran away like that as she stood in front of a really, _really_ pissed Galatea.

"If you ever do that again, I'll make sure that you'll go through a lot of pain. Do you want that the Organization finds out about you? No, let me answer this: sure you want that! Because you still think that Miria is searching for you!".

That hit a nerve.

Gripping her throat firmly with one hand and her hands with her other one Clare pinned Galatea onto the floor. Deep golden eyes were piercing her sightless ones and the teeth of the brown-haired woman were turning into sharp fangs.

"Who do you think you are, speaking about Miria in such a manner? Maybe I should teach you how to speak properly about her".

Her now claw-like nails were digging into Galateas flesh, leaving small cuts and blood slowly dripping down her neck.

Overwhelmed by the sudden action the former number 3 could do nothing but trying to cool Clare down with her special ability.

Reducing the 15% she was using at the moment to zero in a split of a second did its job.

She let go of her throat and Galatea began immediately taking deep breaths and coughing violently at the same time, while Clare was lying onto the wooden floor, gripping her head as if being in pain.

´_Damn, that was way to close, she nearly killed me. I really should be more careful with what I'm saying. Thanks to the training I was able to snap her out of it…_´.

A loud scream snapped her out of her thoughts and she was terrified to sense Clare leaking Yoki again.

"Suppress it! You have to fight!", she cried, but as she tried to grab Clares hand, she slapped it away and began to stumble out of the house.

Galatea could do nothing for her but praying for her to be able to win over her demonic side.

**~*~**

She couldn't remember how she ended up in the forest of Rabona, but that didn't matter at the moment.

Her skin felt as being on fire and she could clearly feel her body transform into her Awakened Form, as the demonic side of her heart began to take over.

**~*~**

Paula waited patiently for the Claymore to finish wrapping the bandages around her wounded stomach to share her information with Miria.

The other three of the squad were already taken care of and were now sleeping in the medical station of the Organizations headquarters.

"I'm finished Paula-san, you can go now".

"Thank you, Martha-san" she said politely before heading towards the boss´ office.

Standing before the wooden door she knocked twice and a "Come in" sounded from inside the room.

Paula stepped inside, closed the door and took a look at the other persons in the room.

"Ah, Paula! It's nice to see you again. How has live been- Ouch! Damn Deneve, the heck was that for?", snapped Helene and rubbed her head in pain.

"For being stupid again. I think what she want to say is more important than telling the story of her life".

"Geez, you´re always so mean to me…".

Sighing heavily, Miria cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"So, what do you want?".

"Uhm, we successful finished our mission, the Awakened Being was killed. B-but there's something I want to tell you, Miria-sama".

Raising her eyebrow, she made a gesture for her to go on.

"I'm not sure why, but another Awakened One killed the one we were supposed to get rid of. I don't know if this is important, but I saw a symbol on the female person's cloak".

Stiffening in her seat Miria glanced at her long-time friends, who were unsurprisingly as shocked as she herself.

Helene grabbed Paula by the collar and the look on her face was dead serious.

"I will only ask one time, so listen carefully. How was the symbol shaped like?".

"L-like a trident, Helene-sama".

As she let go of her all of a sudden Paula fell onto the ground with a _thud_.

"That´s impossible", mumbled Helene and Deneve pulled her into a tight embrace while shooting a worried glance into Mirias direction.

Said warrior was starring at no one and nothing in particular, only saying one word that held so many emotions that it wasn´t clear if they were happy or sad ones.

"Clare".

* * *

See?

This Chapter sucks~

But since there was no action in the former ones, I tried to make this one more interesting...and failed.

But I hope you enjoyed it

And I always wanted so write "Fucking" in one of my fanfictions, so sorry for the cursing XD

Next Chapter: **Explanations**

_Miria, Helene and Deneve are going to search for the mysterious person. Is it really Clare? And what role is Galatea playing in all this mess?_

**If you liked it, please REVIEW.**

No flaming please.


	4. Explanations

**A/N** : Hello guys and sorry for the damn late update D:

Really, it was so hard for me to write this chapter, but I promised you to finish it so here it is, I hope it will satisfied you and will answer some of you questions :)

To clear some misunderstandings, I want to mention something.

In her Awakened Form Clare is her animalistic side nearer as ever, so it´s way easier to lose herself to it...argh! Geez, I hope you all understand what I want to say -_- (Sorry, I´m not good at explaining things...)

Hm, I´ll stop talking now and let you read already xD

Enjoy yourselves!

* * *

The wind swept through Mirias hair as she ran past the many trees and bushes that lay on her way to Rabona. As soon as the three of them snapped out of their daze, the spiky-haired woman nearly rushed out of the headquarter and was going to search for the mysterious woman on her own, yet Deneve stopped her and so all of them were now making their way to the holy city.

"Damn, she's fast", said Helene between breaths and even her short-haired companion had problems to keep up with the phantom warrior. "If she's going to keep up running like this I'll be dead when we arrive in Rabona".

Deneve looked at the back of said woman. "You have to look at it from her point of view. What would you do, when you were in her position and me in Clares?".

Helene shook her head. "I don't even want to imagine that. Let's just hope everything will be alright".

"Do you really think that will happen?".

"No, but I'm an optimist".

Deneve smiled. Even in such a situation her girlfriend was able to make her feel better.

Miria on the other hand seemed oblivious to the conversation that was going on a few meters behind her, her mind was completely somewhere else.

´_Could it be that this person really is Clare? No one has seen her for 2 years; we all thought she died back then_´.

She balled her hands into tight fists.

´_Please be okay, Clare_´.

**~*~**

She lived with it for years now, but it still surprised her how her awakened form seemed to change the view of the surroundings around her.

Smells, sounds, everything seemed to be so clear.

A movement to her left caught her attention and her head jerked into that direction. A small group of Yomas was coming out of the shadows; they seemed to think that they could hook up with the Awakened One they were starring at right now.

Alone the thought of being _friends_ with monsters like that let Clare's blood start to boil.

The beast on the other head wanted to play a little. Games were always fun.

"We are on the way to Eordea; we heard that that little village refused to pay the Claymore that killed the Yoma there. Now we can stay there and kill humans as long as we want to. Want to join the hunt?".

She glanced down at them, her awakened form making her good two feet taller than them.

"I give you ten seconds to run away before I'll rip you into pieces, how does that sound?".

**~*~**

After running for nearly three hours non stop the famous holy city came in view. The great belfry of the cathedral was towering above all the other buildings of the town.

Miria stood before the tall gates, waiting for the other two warriors to catch up with her.

And they did come; out of breath and ten minutes later.

"Miria _pant_ you really _pant_ have to _pant_ wait for us _pant_ the next time".

She ignored Helene and gestured Deneve to grab her and pull her through the gates.

"We don't have any time to waste. According to Paulas report she saw the woman somewhere near the forest of Rabona, so I think Galatea has something to tell us".

Needless to say that Miria was pissed, in some way or another.

The number two picked up Helene bridal style, since she refused to walk any further, and followed her superior.

After many months of work and compromises the priests and Bishop Vincent agreed that Claymores were allowed to set foot into town. They didn't have to take suppressants anymore to travel through the city.

Helene put her arms around Deneves neck and buried her head into her shoulder. She mumbled a small "Thank you" and kept silent afterwards.

"You´re welcome".

**~*~**

Galatea had recovered from the sudden attack that took place a few hours ago and was now waiting patiently for the three warriors to visit her.

Miria, the polite person she was, knocked twice before she entered the house, a nearly sleeping Helene and a stoic looking Deneve behind her.

"To what do I owe the honor of this visit?".

"Don't act as you didn't know why we came. I want you to answer a question of mine, and I want you to answer it honestly. Did you ever saw Clare once in the past two years?".

Galatea gestured the warriors to sit down before answering.

"Yes".

If Miria hadn't sat already she sure would have collapsed into a nearby chair right now.

"Really, that girl truly is something; I mean she survived an encounter with Priscilla".

"Yeah, but", Helene looked ad Galatea, "how _did_ she survived all that? And why didn't she come back to us?".

At this moment the spiky-haired woman wanted nothing more than to cover her ears to prevent herself from hearing the next words.

"She awakened".

**~*~**

Straightening her back, Clare looked around her. No Yoma escaped here, not even the flying ones and she didn't even had to use her special ability.

"One, two, three, four, five, six…so many Yomas and still I'm not even warmed up".

She wanted a real challenge and not weaklings like this Yomas. Someone to battle with; a fight between life and death.

´_No, stop it! That´s not me, thinking such things_´.

Clare tried her best to keep her instincts at bay, to not let them overtake her. Because if they were going to win, somebody would pay for it.

The desire to kill cooled down and Clare was master of her mind again. Still she didn't turn into her human form again, because the familiar Yoki that was slowly making its way towards her couldn't be ignored.

Spotting the huge creature, the man showed her a dumb grin.

"What are you doing all the way out here, hm? Killing innocent people again?".

"Shut your mouth, Dauph".

**~*~**

"You´re kidding, right? It's just a sick joke, isn't it?".

The long-haired woman closed her eyes and didn't answer her.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, you-". "Helene!".

That made her shut up.

"Keep quit and let her finish", Deneve said, glaring at Helene, trying to keep cool herself.

Miria hadn't said anything since Galateas answer.

"I wouldn't be joking over a matter like this, don't you think?".

The number three nodded in agreement.

"What…happened the night two years ago?".

All eyes where on Miria now, who looked straight at Galatea; white meeting silver.

"I don't know what happened exactly during their fight, but Clare defeated Priscilla. I think that due to her injuries and her psychic state her mind couldn't suppress the Yoma energy any longer and as a result she awakened. I found her somewhere near the forest, the huge amounts of Yoki the two of them were leaking just couldn't be ignored".

She made a short pause, recalling the events from two years ago.

"At the time I arrived there the fight was over and Priscilla was dead. Clare on the other hand was barely alive and unconscious. I somehow managed it to bring her to my house without getting to much attention".

"Why did you help here? Surely you had sensed that she wasn´t one of us anymore, right?".

"What would you do? Let her die right on the spot? No, she deserves better than that, and I think you would have done the same".

"Yes", Deneve lowered her head, "I would have done the same".

Miria stood up and leaved the house with an "I need time to think", leaving two confused warriors and a troubled nun behind.

**~*~**

It was night now, only a few people were still on the streets, hurrying to get home in time.

The spiky-haired woman walked through the barely lightened streets, trying to understand everything Galatea just told her.

´_I still can't believe that Clare is that what we're supposed to get rid off. I wonder how she lived trough all this…_´.

She stopped and her gaze traveled up to the star-filled sky.

´_I wish everything would be alright, I miss her so much…_´.

"She went to the west, if you leave know you would catch up with her in no time".

Miria had known Galatea for years now, but it still surprised her how the blind woman could look through people like that.

"I still have something to tell you Miria".

She turned around, facing the slightly taller woman with a stern look on her face.

"Clare…it's complicated. I think you know how reckless she is at times, always throwing herself into fights. But even if she is an Awakened Being now, even if she isn't a warrior anymore, she's still Clare, the headstrong woman that would never hurt her friends, the woman you loved and that loved you in return".

Miria bit her lip, the taste of blood filling her mouth but still she didn't stop.

"Face it, you loved her, you still love her and you will always love her, so hurry up and catch up with her already".

Galatea moved towards her, putting her hands on Mirias shoulders.

"She still loves you too, you´re the only one that can help her now".

She smiled; her eyes watering but the tears never escaped them. Galatea wrapped her arms around the woman in front of her, stroking her hair gently.

"Everything is going to be alright again, you'll see".

Miria pulled back, her stern look on her face again; ready to start her search for Clare.

"Tell Helene and Deneve we will leave when the sun rise, I still need some time to think.

Galatea turned around, making her way towards her house again as Mirias voice stopped her.

"Thank you, Galatea".

"Take care of her, she still needs that".

Her gaze traveled up to the sky again.

"I'll do that".

**~*~**

Clare had hated Dauph since their first meeting in Rifuls old hideout, she still hated him and she sure as hell would hate him in the future, too.

"What are you doing here?".

"Looking for Claymores to catch and torture, you?"

"That´s none of your business".

He snorted. "You´re still as arrogant as ever":

"And you´re still as dump as ever?"

"What did ya say? Maybe I should end it right here and now".

"As if you could do that". Clare couldn't help it, making a fool out of him was way too much fun.

"We'll see", he said, already turning into his awakened form.

´_Not good, I really don't want to fight him now, especially not in _this_ form_´.

Sure, her awakened form made her much stronger, but taller targets were way easier to hit.

"I'll give you ten seconds to run away before I crush you to death".

´_Déjà-vu_´.

Clare narrowed her eyes, trying desperately to find a way to avoid fighting him.

"Isn't Riful going to be angry with you if you´re wasting your time fighting against an already awakened Claymore?".

"Oh shit, you´re right! Lucky for you or I would have killed you for sure".

He turned around and started walking towards his girlfriends' new hideout, uprooting some trees on the way.

´_That was close…_´.

She herself turned back to her human form, looking for her coat.

"I really hate it when this happens…".

**~*~**

Galatea watched the three warriors slowly disappearing from sight, as they made their way through the tall gates of Rabona.

´_I hope Miria and the others find her_´.

She turned around and entered her house, closing the door behind her.

´_Because Miria is the only one than can save Clare from herself_´.

* * *

Whew, it´s done...

It´s done!

(Just ignore the crazy author^^)

And as a little special I´m going to explain how Clares awakened form looks :3

(At least I want to try...)

Her shape is based on that from a werewolf, they are strong, fast and proud creatures so I thought that would suit her. (And I really dislike some of Yagis forms because some of them really look disgusting and weird, so I didn´t want Clare to look that way)

Out of her back come some of this chain-looking things that came out of her left arm as she fought against Rigardo (In the Manga) and she can use them the same way Yoma use their fingers (Or Kateas awakened form, as she attacked Dauph, for example)

She can transform on side of her arms into a blade, not the whole arm only one side (Like Mister 0 from One Piece)

From her right shoulder down to her right elbow are armor-like plates, kind of protection (I want her right arm to be someway special because it´s Irenes arm after all)

And we don´t want to forget her quick-sword! Or windcutter, which you like best.

That´s the ability she used against the Awakened One in Chapter 3, she sends shock waves trough the air that can cut everything from grass to metal, as the real quick-sword, only that she use her arm and not a sword

As every other werewolf too, she got fur, and it´s pitch-black with a glint of silver on it (If you look against the sun^^)

I think that was it, if I forgot anything I´ll add it afterwards :)

**If you liked it, please REVIEW.**

No flaming please.


	5. Reunion I : Clare and Miria

**A/N**: Hello Guys

First of all: I´m sorry that I didn´t update for this long, but I got loads of problems...

School and family

Than my boyfriend

And now my PC is kinda broken and I need a new one

But you sure don´t want to hear my lame excuses, so here you go, my new chapter of Awake and Alive

By the way, I was inspirited to write this fic by two songs "Awake and Alive" (Which I named my fic after) and "Monster" from "Skillet"

If you like Rock/Metal you really should listen to Skillet, they´re awesome

So;

Enjoy yourselves!

* * *

The sun shone down on the grass, making the little droplets of water on it glitter. It still was early in the morning, the sun had barely reached it's highest point as the sound of metallic boots echoed on the dusty road.

Miria, Helene and Deneve had left Rabona one hour and a half ago to search for Clare, who was, according to Galateas information, somewhere in the Western Lands.

"You know", Helene began, looking everywhere but her companions, "I always thought that Clare would prefer to die than to be an…Awakened Being". She shyly looked Mirias way but only saw her back as she was walking in front of them.

Deneve followed her gaze, slightly shaking her head and answered: "You have to consider that her will to live is probably stronger than her hatred of Awakened Beings".

The number three folded her hands behind her back as she starred into the blue sky.

"I really want to know what it is, what keeps her alive like that…".

Now Miria nearly flinched. Nearly.

"Maybe because of some business she still has to do, maybe because of a certain someone. Who knows?".

"What?", Helene asked, looking at her superior. Miria smiled a little; a bitter smile. "Never mind, let's keep going".

**~*~**

Clare bent forward to pick up the cloak she finally found and stripped it over her naked shoulders, covering the rest of her body.

´_It always surprises me how I'm able to find this cloak every time I pull it off_´.

She touched the symbol that was just barely above her heart and closed her eyes.

´_Maybe because I got it from Miria…_´.

At the thought of her, Clares heart tightened painfully. Her arm fell lifeless to her side.

´_It was the best for me and her I didn't return_´. She balled her hands into fists. ´_Who wants to love a monster anyway?_´.

"Damn it"; she muttered, due to her emotional state failing to notice the familiar Yoki that were approaching her at a rather high rate.

**~*~**

Miria stopped dead in her tracks and Helene promptly pumped into Deneve, who had stopped as well. "Ouch! What the-, why are you standing there like that?!". "Shh!", the short haired warrior hushed, "Can't you feel it?".

"Feel what?" Helene asked as she watched Miria making a step forward. "It's her", Deneve said. That caught her off guard. "Her? You mean-". "Right. Clare".

As soon as the words left her mouth the number one rushed into the forest, leaving a cloud of dust behind. "God have mercy on Clare if Maria's gonna find her" "Helene!" "What?!".

**~*~**

_Clare looked at her old cloak, well, better what was left of it. Why did Yomas always have to shred her cloak into tiny little pieces? Was it really that much fun? Maybe she should try it with Helenes cloak…._

"_Clare?", Miria asked, approaching her and putting her Claymore into it's holster once again. "What is it?". "I just wanted to ask if everything is alright, but as I can see", she looked at the more than seven dead and fragmented Yomas lying on the ground, "you´re perfectly fine"._

_She huffed. "As if some Yoma really could land a hit on me". "Don't be so arrogant, you never know what kind of dirty tricks these monsters can pull out of their sleeves"._

_Clare__ gave her an odd stare, one that was clearly trying to say "Do-you-want-to-know-what-I'm-capable-of?"._

_At that moment Miria noticed the damaged cloak. "Clare, really, you should be more careful with these, that´s the sixth one this month". "Is it my fault if some random passing-us-by Yomas attack us and rip my cloak into pieces?" "Vicariously; yes. You could have watched out for it after all"._

´Damn, conversation lost´. _"Yes, ma´am". "You know I hate it when you call me that Clare". "Would you prefer Miria-chan?". "Don´push it…"._

"_Oi, you two, time to return to our lovely cave and get some frigging sleep, so get your asses over here!". Mirias eyebrow twitched slightly. "Someday I'm going to wipe out that mouth of hers with soap". "Agreed"._

_The next day Miria returned from the nearby city with a cloak made out of special leather, one that was very hard to rip into tiny little pieces and a piece of soap. Needless to say that even Helenes precious apples didn't taste delicious to her._

**~*~**

Clare smiled at the memory. ´_That was just a few weeks after we left the north…_´.

She walked towards a large tree and let herself sink to the ground, starring into the green leaves. ´_I wonder how Maria's doing these days_´.

Than she felt it.

This all so familiar Yoki.

She stood up from the ground, frantically searching for any sign of her appearance.

´_I can smell her! Where? Where?..._´.

"Don't. Move.". A sword was pointed directly onto her throat.

Clares eyes moved over the metal, the hilt, the arm, when she finally got to see the face.

"Miria…".

**~*~**

A light pulse of Yoki emerged from the woods.

"She found her", Deneve said, leaning against her Claymore, her eyes closed.

"Don't you think we should go after her and, I don't know, keep an eye on them?".

"Why? I think they are both capable of handling this situation".

"Besides", Deneves gaze traveled over the trees, "I think they need some time alone".

**~*~**

A giant flow of emotions started to wash over her at the sight of Mirias face, her complete form. Her mature features, the stern look, her silver-glittering eyes and her spiky mane.

The feelings seemed to fight over who was going to be the most present one.

Happiness

Hatred

Anger

Joy

Facilitation

Relief

Fear

But every single one of them was easily beaten by the strongest emotion;

Love.

"Miria…what are you doing here?". She didn't dare to move from her spot, the sword was still dangerously near her throat.

"I searched for you, isn't that obvious?!".

The sword began to shake.

"I searched for you for so long…I nearly have given up all hope to ever see your face again. I thought that you…died back then".

"Miria, I-". "Why?! Why didn't you come back to us? Were you afraid we would hate you because you couldn't protect us? Did you think we would outcast you because you _awakened_?".

Clare smiled a bitter smile. "So you know, eh? Did Galatea told you about it? Yes, I awakened. Yes, I killed Priscilla and yes, I hate myself for being what I am! I didn't want it to end this way! I'm not any better than a Yoma, I'm a monster!".

The sword pierced itself into the soft ground as the number one let go of it.

Then, the sound of a hand making contact with a cheek filled the air.

Miria just slapped Clare across the face; hard.

"Don't you dare say that again, ever. You are you, the one everyone respected, the one who used to be so strong for others, the one I loved!".

She stumbled to Clare, wrapping her arms around her in a comforting embrace.

"The one I still love".

A salty droplet rained down onto the earth and shortly afterwards lots of raindrops followed suit.

She didn't lift a muscle as Mirias body began to shake with suppressed sobs.

"Don't leave me again…".

Clare moved her head towards the sky.

´_I always hated the rain_´.

She looked onto Miria again, now placing her arms around her shacking frame.

´_But now I kind of like it_´.

"No, I won´t".

´_It's hiding my tears_´.

* * *

...to be honest, I don´t know what to think about this chapter

Both Miria and Clare aren´t the most emotional people but I hope I still somehow managed to get them...well...kind of adoreable^^

I know this chapter is short but to much would have ruined the whole chapter I think

**Rickmer**: I thought about her legs but I didn´t come to a result I was satisfied with

first I don´t like that they´re shaped like hoarse-legs and second I don´t think horse legs would match to the rest of her body

So... I still don´t really know...maybe you got a better idea^^

And about the chains...well

www. onemanga .com/Claymore/60/02/

The left ones, I don´t know if there´s an English word that would describe this things so I just choose to say "Chains" :)

**demon666**: Their relationship IS more than just friends; they´re lovers or they love each other, what you like better

And I didn´t say she was afraid of fighting him, I wanted to say that it wouldn´t be clever do do in her awakened form because then sheá way more taller and taller targets are easier to hit

And, yes, she is fast^^ But Dauph isn´t that bad either

**All the others**: I am glad that you all like my story =)

By the way, there´s a nice green button at the bottom, just click and write something nice...xD

Now, seriously, I am kind of pissed that everyone READS my story but nearly NOBODY reviews it...that makes me angry and sad

See you at the next chapter!

**If you liked it, please** **REVIEW**.

No flaming please.


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